Locking bottle cap



Dec. 24, 1940.

w. B. ROSEVEAR, JR LOCKING BOTTLE CA'P Filed May 27, 1938 Patented Dec. 24, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE signor to Benjamin Mich.

Anibal, Birmingham,

Application May 27, 1938, Serial No. 210,473

14 Claims.

The invention relates to closures for bottles or the like, and it has particular relation to a closure which may be releasably locked on the bottle.

In certain instances it is desirable to have a closure or cap which may be releasably locked on a bottle in such manner that normally only an authorized person will be able to remove the cap and thus gain access to the contents of the bottle. As a specific instance, it is desirable to use a lockable closure of this character in liquor dispensing establishments where as a rule many partly filled bottles are always on hand. By preventing access to the bottles in this manner, substantial loss will thus be prevented, and thisis particularly true inconnection with bottles of liquor owing to the cost thereof.

One object of the'present invention is to provide a lockable closure for bottles which is inexpensive in construction and which is characterized by a simplicity. of operation.

Another object of the invention is to provide a lockable closure such as designated, which involves a combination lock that is easy to manipulate to the end that a minimum amount of effort and time will be required to lock and unlock the closure.

Another object of the invention is to provide a lockable closure as mentioned wherein a combination lock is provided which is so designed and constructed that the combination may be Varied very easily.

Another object of the invention is to provide a lockable closure of the aforesaid character which is so designed and arranged that even though an unauthorized person learns of the combination, a normally unknown and particular manipulation would be required before the closure could be unlocked.

Other objects of the invention will become apparent from the following specification, the drawing relating thereto, and from the claims hereinafter set forth.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference may be had to the drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary elevational view of a bottle having a lockable closure constructed according to one form of the invention, with certain parts of the arrangement shown in crosssection;

Fig. 2 is a plan View of the closure shown by Fig. 1, with certain parts broken away and others shown incross-section for thepurpose of illustrating inner parts of the closure;

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a plan view similar to Fig.2, illustrating the parts operable according to a predetermined combination and set to permit unlocking of the closure; and

Fig. 5 is a detail view illustrating a form of slot which may be used according to another form of the invention.

Referring to Fig. 1, a bottle I0 is illustrated, which has a neck II provided with external thread elementslZ, such as are ordinarily provided on bottles for fastening caps thereon. A cup shaped bottle cap I3 is provided for the bottle and this cap has spiral grooves I4 on the inner surface of its side wall by means of which the cap may bethreadedly engaged with the thread elements I2 on the bottle. Normally a cork disc or other sealing element i5 is provided in the cap for positively sealing the opening in the bottle as will be readily understood. So far thecons'truction described is characteristic of standard bottles and'caps therefor, and while the invention has a wider range of application than that of the particular structure illustrated, it will be appreciated that it is applicable to a cap and bottle assembly already widely in use.

The general principle of the invention illustrated is to provide a cover means for the cap that normally will prevent access to the latter, and hence which will normally prevent turning of the cap so as to remove it from the bottle. This cover means generally comprises an annular member 18 normally retained on the cap and rotatable with respect. thereto, and a second cup shaped member 20 rotatable with respect to the cap and first member but which may be released from the cap so as to allow access to the latter.

More particularly, the second member 20, while normally rotatable with respect to both the cap l3 and the member I8,- is releasable from both the cap and first member when all of such parts are in predetermined and relative circumferentialpositions. Then the member 20 may be withdrawn axially from the cap, and when so withdrawn, the upper portion of the cap will be exposed so that. it may be gripped with the fingers and turned for the purpose of removing it from the bottle.

The member I8 is retained on the cap l3 by means of a split ring 22 disposed partly in annular grooves 23 and 24 in the member and cap, respectively. It will be understood that the ring may be initiallydisposed in the groove 24 and contracted there sufliciently to allow disposal of bottle neck when the cap I 3 is turned or it can be terminated at sufficient distance from the bottle neck surface that removal of thecap will not,

involve any interference between the flange and the thread elements on the bottle neck. At its upper end, the member |8 has an outwardly offset wall portion 30 overlapping the lower end of the side wall of the second member and this overlapping relation eliminates a directly open gap between the members. With the member l8 retained on the cap l3, the manner in which.

the cap 20 is releasably locked. in position is now to be considered.

At its inner side, the outwardly offset portion of member I8 is provided with an annular groove 3|, which, as best shown by Fig. 3, communicates at one point with a generally spiral slot 32 that extends from the groove to the upper edge of such oifset portion. In radial alignment with the groove 3|, a circumferentially arranged series of openings 35 is provided in the side wall of member 2!] and these openings are adapted selectively to receive a pin 36.- This pin, as shown best by Fig. 1, has a transverse slot in its end disposed in the opening and it is intended that the slotted end be initially expanded so that when pushed into any one opening, it normally will be held in place by its expansion, although it is to be understood that the pin may be removed without undue difficulty.

From this description, it will be seen that upon turning the member 20 andmember l8 relatively, the pin 36 may be disposed in alignment with the lower end of slot 32 and that then upon lifting the member 26 and turning it, the pin will move upwardly through the ,slot, thus permitting removal of such member 20 with respect to the member l8. For the purpose of externally. determining the relative positions in which the members l8 and 20 should be disposed to permit such withdrawal of member 20, alphabetical letters are placed on an inclined ledge 3'! on member 20 and this ledge incidentally overhangs the upperv end face of the offset portion 30 of member. |8 so as to prevent anyone from seeing downwardly between the members and observing the position of the pin. Each one of the letters is in'vertical alignment with one of the openings 35 and with the parts disassembled, the pin 36 may be disposed in one of the openings and then by noting the letter directly above such opening, one may realize where the pin is located after the parts are assembled.

Adjacent the ledge 31, the'offset. portion 30 of member I8 is provided with an upstanding, pointed projection or arrow 40 which has a definite predetermined relation with the lower end of slot 32. The lower end of slot 32 might be directly under the arrow 40 within the contemplation of the present invention, and if thiswere true, assuming that the pin 36 is under the letter A as shown, one would only have to turn the member 20 relative to the member l8 until the letter A became vertically aligned with'the arrow 40 and then the pin would be directly at'th'e lower end of the slot 32 and upward withdrawal of the member 20 relative to member l8 would be permitted. However, in accordance with a further feature of the present invention, it is desirable, as shown, to have the lower end of slot 32 circumferentially offset from the arrow 40 a slight distance, such as half the distance between two letters, so that even if one knew the pin .to be under the letter A, for example, he would also have to know that member 20 would have to be so turned that the arrow would be at a point half way between the letters A and B. Thus, if an unauthorized person should learn that the pin 36 is under the letter A, he still would not know that the arrow 40 would have to be half way the distance between the letters A and B before the member 20 could be upwardly withdrawn. Inasmuch as one normally would turn a cap counterclockwise in attempting to remove it, it is apparent that even if one unauthorized knew that the pin 36 is under the letter A, counterclockwise turning of the member 20 would move the pin 36 farther and farther from the lower end of the slot 32. Thus, it would quickly appear that the attained knowledge was insufiicient. One authorized to know would continue turning the member 20 counterclockwise almost a complete turn and until the arrow 40 is between the letters A and B.

Now referring to Figs. 1 and 3, the upper end of cap |3 has an annular groove in the outer side of its side wall and the inner side of the side wall of member 20 has a circumferentially arranged series of openings 46 similar to the openings 35. A pin 41 similarly is disposed selectively in one of these openings and projects into the groove 45. Groove 45, like groove 3|, communicates with a generally spiral slot 48 that extends to the upper end face of the cap l3. An alphabetical series of letters is placed on the upper end face of cap 20, as shown by Figure 2, and with reference to Figs. 1 and 3, this series of letters would ext-end along the outer surface portion indicated at 50. It will be understood that each letter is in vertical alignment with one of the openings 46.

An arrow 5| is placed on the upper face of the cap I 3 and this arrow has the same relation to slot 48 as arrow 40 has with respect to slot 32. Arrow 5| is visible through the upper end wall of the member 20 by having a transparent disc 53 inserted in the end wall. This disc may be held assembled with the member 20 by means of a split ring 54 similarly to the manner in which the cap I 3 and ring l8 are held together. It will be noted that the metal portion of member 20 extends inwardly towards the center sufficiently to prevent anybody observing through the disc 53 and seeing the pin 41.

Now directing particular attention to Figure 2, it will be observed that the pins 36 and 41 on member 20 are both disposed in openings under the two A letters and the combination is, therefore, A-A. Assuming that the cap is to be removed, the member 20 is turned until the upper letter A is aligned with the arrow 5| and .then the member 2|] is held in position while the member I3 is turned relative thereto until the arrow 40 is brought into alignment with the lower letter A on ledge 31. It might be stated here that both Figures 2 and 4 indicate the lower and upperoend portions of both slots 32 and 48 with thelarrows 40 and 5|, respectively, between the ends of corresponding slots. So with the two A letters aligned with the arrows 40 and 5|, respectively, the pins 36 and 41 are'aligned with the two letters, re-

spectively, but the lower ends of the two slots are displaced clockwise of the pins a short distance,

such as half the distance between two letters.

Thus, vertical movementof the member 20 is still prevented. .It is necessary tonow turn the member 20 while holding .the member P8 and bottle against turninggand if turned in a counterclockwise or. unscrewing direction, and simultaneously applying upward pulling force, the pins will enter 10 the lower ends ofthe two slots after almost completing a counterclockwise turn of the member 20. When the two pins enter the lower end of the slots, continued turning will cause the pins to move through the slots until the member is removed; Then the cap 13 may be removed by turning it relative to the bottle.

When the cap'is to be replaced on the bottle, it is threaded thereon until tight and then the member is placed over the cap [3 until the pins rest on the upper face of cap [3 and onthe upper face of the member l8, respectively. With the parts in this relation, the member 20 is turned until the letter A on the upper face thereof is aligned with the arrow 5| and then the member I8 is turned relative to the member 20 until the arrow 40 is alignedwith the lower letter A on ledge 31. held against relative turning, and the member 20 is turned slowly and with slightly downward pressure until the pins drop into the upper ends of the slots 32' and 48. If the member 20 is turned clockwise almost a complete turn to cause the pins to drop into the upper ends of the slots, continued turning of the member in the same di- F rection will cause the pins to finally enter the grooves.

A large number of combinations may be obtained by changing the pins from one opening to another and it is only necessary to remember the -40 letters over the openings in which the two pins are disposed and the relation of the arrows to the slots.

Fig. 5 shows a different form of slot, indicated at 6|, which may be employed in place of the slots 32 and 48. In this additional form, the slot has a substantially vertical upper end portion 62 and a generally spiral lower portion. When this type of slot is employed, manipulation of member 20 to move it upwardly brings the pins 36 and 41 into the vertical portions 62 of the slots and when this occurs, the member 20 may be withdrawn by vertically upward movement or if not pulled upward, it may be merely turned, and due to such portions of the slots, the pins will cause unscrewing of cap l3. Thus, in this case, the cap [3 could be removed without actually removing member 20. V

In manufacturing the invention, it may be found desirable to initially place the two pins in so openings in the upper part of member 20, so as to facilitate assembly of the parts for shipment and'so as to eliminate the necessity of the manufacturer recording the combination for each individual bottle. Then it is only necessary for the purchaser of the bottle and contained goods to take the two pin-s from the openings 60 and place them in selected openings 35 and 46, and the combination thus provided may be changed at will by the purchaser by simply removing the pins from one set of openings and replacing them in another set. Most of the parts of the construction may be manufactured inexpensively in various ways and an inexpensive way of manufacturing such parts is by means of die casting metals suitable for the purpose.

Then the member 18 and bottle are Although only one form of the invention has been illustrated and described in detail, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. The combination with a bottle or the like open at one end, of a cup shape bottle cap adapted to fit over said end so as to close the bottle,'cooperating means on the inner surface of the side wall of the cap and on the outer surface of the bottle for releasably holding the cap in place and being of such character that turning of the cap relative to the bottle is required in applying and removing the cap, cover means mounted on the cap in enclosing and rotatable relation thereto for normally preventing access to and turning of the latter when it is on the bottle, and including a removable member which when'removed allows access to the cap for turning it, and locking; means. carried by the cap and member for releasably locking the member in cap 7 covering position and which is of such character that unauthorized removal of the cap normally is prevented.

. 2. The combination with a bottle or the like open at one end, of a cup shape bottle cap adapted tofit over said end so as to close the bottle, cooperating means on the inner surface of the side wall of the cap and on the outer surface of the bottle for releasably holding the cap in place and being of such character that turning of the cap relative to the bottle is required in applying and removing the cap, cover means mounted on the cap in enclosing and rotatable relation thereto for normally preventing access to and turning of the latter when it ison the bottle, and including a removable member which when removed allows access to the cap for turning it, andcombination locking means carriedby the cap and member for releasably locking the member in cap covering position and which is. of such character that unauthorized removalof the cap normally is prevented.

3. The combination with a bottle or the like open at one end, of a cup shape cap adapted to fit over said end was to close the bottle, cooperating means on the inner surface of the side wall of the cap and on the outer surface of the bottle .for releasably holding the capin place and being of such character that turning of the caprelative to the bottle is required in applying and removing the cap, cover means mounted on the cap in enclosing and rotatable. relation thereto for normally preventing access to and turning of the latter when it is on the bottle, and including a plurality of annular members, and combination locking means releasably locking one member to an adjacent member and to the cap and being of such character that removal of said one member depends upon disposing the annular members and cap in predetermined positions circumferentially of the cap.

4. The combination with a bottle or the like open at one end, of a cup shape cap adapted -to fit over said end so as to close the bottle, cooperating means on the inner surface of the side wall of the cap and on the outer surface of the bottle for releasably holding the cap in place and being of such character that turning of the capjrelative to the bottle is required in applying and removing the cap, a first annular member on the side wall of the cap at the inner or free edge end 'of the cap, a second annular member of cup shape fitting over the'outer end of the cap in rotatable relation thereto and jointly with the first annular member providing a cover on the cap for normally preventing access to the latter when it is on the bottle, means holding the first annular member on the cap but permitting relative rotation of the member and cap, means holding the second annular member on the first annular member but permitting their relative rotation, and means holding the second annular member on the cap but permitting their relative rotation, the last two means being of such character that removal of the second annular member from the cap and from the first annular member depends upon placing the annular members and cap in predetermined circumferential positions relative to one another.

5. The combination with a bottle or the like open at one end, of a cup shape cap member adapted to fit over said end so as to close the bottle, cooperating means on the inner surface of the side wall of the cap and on the outer surface of the bottle for releasably holding the cap in place and being of such character that turning of the cap relative to the bottle is required in applying and removing the cap, a first annular member on the side wall of the cap at the inner or free edge end of the cap, a second annular member of cup shape fitting over the outer end of the cap and jointly with the first member forming a cover for the cap which normally prevents access to the latter when it is on the bottle, said members having adjacent side wall portions telescoping axially of the cap, means for releasably but rotatably holding the members together including a circumferentially extending groove in one of said side wall portions, a slot extending from said groove to an end of said wall portion and a projection on the other wall portion adapted to move in said groove and slot, and means on side wall portions of the second annular member and cap member for releasably but rotatably holding them together including a circumferentially extending groove in the side wall portion of one member, a slot extending from the groove to an end of the member and a projection on the side wall portion of the other member adapted to move in the groove and slot, the arrangement being such that upon placing all members in predetermined circumferential positions relative to one another, the second member may be removed axially of the cap through relative movement of the projections through the slots.

6. The combination with a bottle or the like open at one end, of a cup shape cap member adapted to fit over said end so as to close the bottle, cooperating means on the inner surface of the side wall of the cap and on the outer surface of the bottle for releasably holding the cap in place and being of such character that turning of the cap relative to the bottle is required in applying and removing the cap, a pair of relatively rotatable, annular members rotatably mounted on the cap and adapted jointly to enclose the cap so as to normally prevent access thereto when it is on the bottle, means for holding one annular member against axial movement on the cap member but permitting its rotation thereon, and means for holding the other annular member against axial movement on the cap member unless such other member and cap member are in predetermined, relative circumferential positions.

7. The combination with a bottle or the like open at one end, of a cup shape cap adapted to fit over said end so as to close the bottle, cooperating means on the inner surface of the side wall of the cap and on the outer surface of the bottle for releasably holding the cap in place and being of such character that turning of the cap relative to the bottle is required in applying and removing the cap, a pair of relatively rotatable annular members rotatably mounted on the cap and adapted jointly to enclose the cap so as normally to prevent access thereto when it is on the bottle, means for holding one member against axial movement on the cap but permitting relative rotation thereof, means on said members for holding the other member against axial movement on the cap unless said members are in predetermined, relative circumferential positions, and means on said other member and on the cap for holding the former, against axial movement on the cap unless such secondmember and cap are in predetermined, relative circumferential positions.

8. The combination with a bottle or the like open at one end, of a cup shape cap member adapted to fit over said end so as to close the bottle, cooperating means on the inner surface of the side Wall of the cap and on the outer surface of the bottle for releasably holding the cap in place and being of such character that turning of the cap relative to the bottle is required in applying and removing the cap, a pair of relatively rotatable annular members rotatably mounted on the cap and adapted jointly to enclose the cap so as to normally prevent access thereto when it is on the bottle, means for holding one member against axial movement on the cap member but permitting its rotation thereon, means for holding the other member against axial movement on the cap member unless such members are in predetermined, relative circumferential positions, and means holding the second member and cap member against relative rotation when the second member is partly moved axially of the cap.

9. A lockable bottle closure comprising a cup shape cap member adapted to be applied to the bottle, cover means mounted on the cap to rotatable relation thereto and so enclosing the outer surfaces of the cap that when the cap is on the bottle access to the cap is normally prevented, said cover means including a pair of annular members rotatable relatively, means between one of said annular members and the cap for normally holding them together against relative movement axially of the cap, and means concealed by the cover means when assembled with the cap for preventing axial movement of the second annular member relative to the cap except when said annular members and cap are in predetermined circumferentially relative positions.

10. The combination with a bottle or the like open at one end, of a cup shape bottle cap adapted to fit over said end so as to close the bottle, cooperating means on the cap and bottle for normally securing the cap on the bottle against removal unless access is had to the cap, cover means rotatably mounted on the cap and retained thereon by engagement with such cap for normally preventing access to the latter and including a removable part adapted when removed to allow access to the cap, and a lock rotatable with respect to the cover means for normally locking the removable part against removal.

11. The combination with a bottle or the like open at one end, of a cup shape bottle cap adapted to fit over said end so as to close the bottle, cooperating means on the cap and bottle for normally securing the cap on the bottle against removal unless access is had to the cap, cover means on the cap and retained thereon by engagement with such cap for normally preventing access to the latter and including a removable part rotatably mounted on the cap and which is adapted when removed to allow access to the cap, and a locking means rotatable with respect to the cover means for normally locking the removable part on the cap against removal while still allowing its rotation on the cap.

12. The combination with a bottle or the like open at one end, of a cup shape bottle cap adapted to fit over said end so as to close the bottle, cooperating means on the cap and bottle for normally securing the cap on the bottle against removal unless access is had to the cap, cover means on the cap for enclosing the latter and preventing access thereto and including an annular member rotatable on the cap, combination locking means between the cap and rotatable member and dependent for operation on relative circumferential positions of such parts, indicia on the rotatable member and cap, respectively, for controlling setting of the combination locking means, and means in a portion of the cover means for rendering the indicia on the cap visible while still preventing access to the cap for releasing it from the bottle.

13. The combination with a bottle or the like open at one end, of a cup shape bottle cap adapted to fit over said end so as to close the bottle, cooperating means on the cap and bottle for normally securing the cap on the bottle against removal unless access is had to the cap, cover means on the cap for enclosing the latter and preventing access thereto and including an annular member rotatable on the cap, combination locking means between the cap and rotatable member and dependent for operation on relative circumferential positions of such parts, indicia on the rotatable member and cap, respectively, for controlling setting of the combination looking means, and means in a portion of the cover means for rendering the indicia on the cap visible while still preventing access to the cap for releasing it from thebottle, said last mentioned means comprising an opening in the cover means and a glass insert in said opening.

14. The combination with a bottle or the like open at one end, of a cup shape bottle cap adapted to fit over said end so as to close the bottle, cooperating means on the cap and bottle for normally securing the cap on the bottle against removal unless access is had to the cap, an annular member on the edge portion of the cap and having an inwardly directed flange projecting over the edge face of the cap, means holding said member against axial movement on the cap while permitting its rotation thereon, a second cup shape member enclosing the base portion of the cap and having its side wall disposed in partly telescopic relation to the side wall of the first member, combination locking means between the first and second members but concealed thereby for normally locking the second member to the first against relative axial movement while still allowing relative rotation thereof, combination locking means between the cap and second member but concealed thereby for normally locking the second member to the cap against relative, axial movement while still allowing relative rotation thereof, both of said combination locking means being of such character that upon disposing the cap and first and second members in predetermined and relative circumferential positions, axial removal of the second member is permitted, external indicia on the first and second members for governing manipulation of the combination locking means between the members, similar indicia on the cap and on the second member for governing manipulation of the combination locking means between such parts, and a glass insert in the end wall of the second member for rendering the indicia on the cap visible.

WILLIAM B. ROSEVEAR, JR. 

